Robin in the Hood (Robbin' Hearts Series Book 1) (29 page)

“Then we’ll scare ’em so bad they’ll be begging for death.”

The Colonel had come up from behind us with a machete, and the TNT Twins were beside him in their boulder costumes, waving swords. “Men,” the Colonel ordered, “man the stations. We do Attack Plan Five.”

“Five?” I asked.

Bixby nodded. “That’s when intruders have guns.” He yanked on what looked like a vine hanging from a tree. “Ready?”

“Wait, what do I do?”

“You git on a helmet, honey!” crackled a voice in the darkness. Granny Tinker appeared next to us with a pot on her head. She shoved one onto mine. “This here’s WAR.”

All at once, they scattered like ants. Except for Creek.

“There’s a tree stand right there,” he pointed to a large oak on the perimeter. “I want you to go up and be safe, where Tweedle’s men won’t spot you. No matter how bad it gets, baby, don’t come down for nothin’. Hear?”

“No, I want to be with you—”

“You can’t, Robin! There’s gotta be somebody left to take care of Dooley.”

Creek’s words hit me like a blow to the gut.

He meant, if nobody else from Turtle Shores
s
u
r
v
i
v
e
s
.

I paused for a second, trying to grasp the enormity of his words.

Oh God—of course I’d take care of that little boy! I’d do anything for my . . . family.

“I love you!” I cried, stealing a kiss. “You come back, Creek. ’Cause we’ve just barely gotten started—”

Creek brushed aside my hair and stared into my eyes. With one, last sweet kiss, he nodded and darted into the darkness.

And I was left in the shadows.

Totally alone.

I’d expected explosions.

Full-on assaults.

Attack Geese charging from every direction.

Maybe even a snake pit or two—

But what I hadn’t anticipated was the silence.

As Tweedle’s men went from trailer to trailer, Creek and the Colonel and the rest of them had disappeared into the night like Ninjas. What they were up to, I had no idea.

And the waiting was pure agony.

I sat on the tree stand watching it all with a stupid stick in my hand, as if that were enough to defend me or anyone else.

My pulse throbbed against my skull, so I took off my make-shift metal helmet. I knew if they’d found my dad, they would’ve hauled him out by now—maybe even shot him. So he must be safe, right?

Tweedle’s men stepped out of another trailer that they’d searched in vain. Cursing, they stood in front of it and opened fire.

Their guns were so loud they overwhelmed my screams.

Gasping, I hoped they hadn’t hit anyone, since they were just aiming at an empty metal shell—

I trembled and pulled out my mother’s ruby from my dress for comfort. Cupping it in my hands, I prayed from the bottom of my heart for everyone in Turtle Shores to be safe.

Then something else happened that I didn’t expect.

While my eyes were closed, I saw her again.

Beautiful Alessia . . .

Her dark hair spilled over her shoulders, and she was wearing a thin, yellow sundress. To my surprise, she ripped open the fabric over her chest, revealing a gleaming red heart.

Just like the jewel in my hands.

And I swear to God, the ruby in my palms grew so warm that I could hardly hold on to it any more.

“Can our love triumph?” she whispered, her eyes searching mine. She looked so sad, yet caring, and she stretched out her hand—reaching—reaching—as if both our lives depended on it. “
C
a
r
a
m
i
a
.
Believe—”

I felt her warm fingers brush against my cheek, soft as a feather.

Then a loud crash made me open my eyes with a start.

Across the meadow, a trailer had turned over. The door was blocked against the ground now, and the TNT Twins, the Colonel and Granny were alongside it with ropes that they’d latched onto the roof by metal hooks. Tweedle’s men were trapped inside!

Before any of them could break out a window, Creek and Bixby swung from high vines and landed onto the overturned trailer with short, two by fours tucked under their arms. They proceeded to slide the boards into metal brackets that had been bolted on each side of the windows. Then they leaped from the trailer and lay flat on the ground while everyone else hit the dirt.

Gunfire sprayed from inside, piercing the metal and glass.

I sucked air in horror, when I heard the Colonel speak through his megaphone.

“Y’all wanna LIVE?” he called out, his words booming over the compound like the voice of God. “’Cause my boys got grenades ready to drop in there right now if you don’t surrender them guns. You jest push ’em on out those broken windows like you’re told. Ya hear?”

Creek and Bixby stood up on either side of the trailer and dangled their grenades in front of the windows with their fingers on the pins.

For a moment, nothing happened. All remained quiet.

Then I saw the gun barrels slowly poke out.

Creek and Bixby grabbed them faster than frogs snatch flies.

They slipped the guns under their arms and dropped hoses with running water into the trailer windows, flooding it.

“Just to keep you boys honest,” the Colonel called out. “Hope you can swim! We’ll leave you a little room for air, if you’re good.”

“Good won’t make a bit of difference for Royle.” I heard a coarse laugh underneath my tree stand. “Or shall I say Doyle? Which name do you go by in the boondocks?”

It was Tweedle! Oh my God, had he really found my dad?

“Amazing how far an asshole can get with a cane, huh? Guess he figured out we’d discovered some of your bunkers, so he limped into the woods and dragged this tyke with him.”

Slapping my own cheeks, I tried as hard as possible to stop hyperventilating and kneeled to peer over the edge of the tree stand.

There was Tweedle with my dad in his grip—and a pistol to his head. Little Dooley was clutching my father’s hand.

“Grandpa?” Dooley yanked on my dad. “Are the bad guys winning?”

It pierced my heart to hear him call my dad that.

I saw my father straighten his back, as much as he could with the support of his cane, despite the hold Tweedle had on him.

“Nooo,” he shook his head at Dooley. He turned and glared at Tweedle. “Leth himmm gooo.”

“What’s that?” Tweedle laughed. “What’s that you say old buddy—speak English!”

My father hauled off and decked him.

To my total shock, Tweedle was splayed on the ground.

“Runnn!” My dad barked at Dooley, giving him a push.

The child sprinted for his life, but not before Tweedle had scrambled to his feet and shoved his gun back into my dad’s temple in seconds flat. Panting, he’d been too quick for Creek and Bixby to nail him with their machine guns.

“Got your licks in, eh Royle?” Tweedle taunted, flashing a mean smile. “Try this on for size—”

He shot my dad in the leg.

If I’d had any air left in my lungs, I might have let out a blood-curdling scream—but I was too astounded to make a sound. My father’s moans made my stomach twist until I thought I was going to hurl.

I looked across the compound. To my astonishment, I saw Brandi standing on the grass, guarding Dooley behind her legs like a human shield. She must’ve crawled out from the bunker after they’d tipped over the trailer. And even in her weakness, she’d put Dooley first. Creek stared at me, stone still. Oh, how I wished he could tell me what to do . . .

“Give me the ruby!” Tweedle demanded, shaking my dad by the shoulder. He kicked the bullet wound on his calf and watched my father grimace in pain. “You got ten seconds for that little bitch daughter of yours to come out of hiding and hand it over, or you’re a dead man. Got that? Ten . . . nine . . .”

“Shoot us!” My father cried with perfect clarity at Creek and Bixby. “Shoot us now!”

My hands clamped over my mouth as I saw Creek actually consider it, taking a step forward with his gun raised.

It made perfect sense. If Creek shot them both, then we would’ve gotten away with the ruby and the Swiss bank accounts. Brandi would be taken care of and we’d all be set for life. But I wouldn’t have my dad—and we were
f
i
n
a
l
l
y
—God bless him—a family!

I stood on the tree stand, certain now what to do.

They were directly beneath the edge of the wood. If I hit them right, I could knock Tweedle down, maybe even get that gun from his hand.

Creek’s alarmed eyes met mine, and I could tell he’d sensed my plan. He knew I was gutsy, ball gown or no ball gown. I saw him cleverly slip his fingers into his tuxedo pocket where Tweedle couldn’t see and pull out a small feather. Closing his eyes for just a second, he released it to the wind and gave me a nod.

I tucked the ruby back into the bust of my gown and hitched up my hem.

Holy Toledo, this is it. All for one and one for all—

I leaped from the stand like a flying squirrel, aiming for Tweedle’s head. All the while, I prayed to God—to Alessia—and to several saints at once for love to be
r
e
a
l
and worth fighting for.

My body hit Tweedle’s like a pile of bricks, and I heard his gun fire.

Fortunately, his chubby physique had broken my fall. I scrambled for his pistol on the ground, barely skimming its metal with my fingers when his hand clamped down on mine. He viciously ripped the gun away and poised it at my head.

“The ruby,” he hissed. “Hand it over!”

He started patting my dress, detecting the lump in my cleavage. Humiliated, I felt him brazenly sink his fingers into my breasts—but I’d had enough.

“No!” I cried, backing away from him. I didn’t care any more if he shot me. I’d led a totally loveless life up to this point, all for money, and I wasn’t going to back down. I saw where it had gotten my dad. “This is my mom’s, it was her only treasure, and you can’t have it! It’s going to pay for my friend’s health care. I think my mom would be proud of that.”

I clutched my hands to my chest, the ruby digging into my skin.

And I felt as though something broke open in me. The stone was so warm—radiating heat—that I felt incapable of spouting my worn-out Geisha lines any more. Every word that spilled from my lips was the truth.

“Take this!” I whipped out the folded piece of paper from inside my dress. “They’re my dad’s Swiss bank accounts. Take all this filthy money that’s been nothing but a curse and be gone.”

I waved the paper in the air and watched Tweedle’s eyes light up like a kid at a candy store. But his pistol was still aimed squarely at my forehead.

“If you grab this now,” I challenged, “we’ll let you head out into the woods. There’s a limo there. You can beat it back to Cincinnati on one condition—you never bother any of us again. Think about it. No dead bodies to bury, no police, and even better, no trailer park militia who’ll hunt you down until the day you die. You be gone and you stay gone!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Creek subtly motion for me to move over.

I’d completely forgotten—there was probably a hole near me, one of the TNT Twin’s vats—and Tweedle might fall into it if I could just edge him towards it a little more. Scanning the ground, I spied a patch where the grass was a little brown, but it looked like more of a rectangle? Either way, it was a good plan.

My father eyed me and the dry spot on the grass, and he nodded. All at once, he gripped his leg and howled so loudly that it distracted Tweedle for a nano-second, but that was all I needed to shift a little. The rectangle was in front of me now, so I went for it.

“Here!” I chirped, holding out the paper right over the discolored grass like a carrot. “Take the Swiss bank accounts, before I change my mind.”

Tweedle grinned and took a step forward. I saw Creek run like a madman across the perimeter, behind Tweedle’s view. He dove for a dry spot on the grass, and just before Tweedle could grab the paper from my hand, his body vaulted in air . . .

Disappearing like a rocket into the starry night sky.

“Lordy, would ya look at that!” I heard Granny’s voice holler. “Who knew a fat little bugger could reach so darn high?”

My mouth dropped as the wooden arm of the huge trebuchet returned to the ground with a crash, bouncing a few times on the grass.

And Creek was at my side in a shot, his arms engulfing me.

“You did it!” He cried, laughing and swinging me around. “Tweedle’s somewhere in the middle of Bender Lake right now!”

The TNT Twins were jumping up and down in their boulder costumes while Bixby and the Colonel let out whoops and Granny Tinker threw her pot helmet in the air. But it was the sight of Brandi and Dooley rushing over to check on my dad that finally made me break down. Tearing up, I grabbed Creek by the hand and dashed over to his side.

“Daddy!” I cried, reaching down to rip open his orange polyester pants leg with blood stains all over it.

His wound appeared ghastly, but it wasn’t bleeding as much as I thought. I wanted to tell him that I would personally carry him through the woods to an emergency room tonight if I had to. And by God, we were going to get Brandi her treatments first thing tomorrow. With the Swiss bank accounts in hand, we would pay any price for both of them to get better.

But the words didn’t come out.

Because I was too busy cradling his head in my lap and tenderly giving him a squeeze.

“Everything’s going to be okay now, Daddy,” I finally assured him, kissing his forehead. “We’re gonna get you all taken care of.”

I glanced up at Creek and Brandi and the rest of the motley folks at Turtle Shores who’d surrounded us in a circle, like a
r
e
a
l
family. They might have pots on their heads or camouflaged boulder outfits, but they were loyal to the bone, and their concerned eyes said they loved me. Reaching up, I tousled Dooley’s hair.

“This time, sweetie, the good guys really did win.”